


Eat Your Heart Out, Mullet

by welcometomystic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 80s AU, 80s AU - Voltron, Alternate Universe - High School, Eventual Langst, Eventual Romance, Keith is only closeted because he's a fucking hermit, Lance is a closeted bi boi, Langst, M/M, Slow Burn, anyway, because of course it is, but he's a gay disaster, if you know me you know why i said "of course" lol, it's not even intentional lol, it's only that my entire self is a walking 80s AU with a cell phone and an internet connection lol, poor Shiro has to try and raise this gay boi, the rest is VLD, this is mildly based on 80s Voltron fashion and that's it lol, with Adam's help of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:55:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometomystic/pseuds/welcometomystic
Summary: Lance is the class clown, plays running back on the varsity football team, and is just an overall tool. Keith is the new kid, a total loner, and just a loser to the max. At least, in comparison to Lance. He even had a mullet and listened to metal.Anyway, Lance was awesome and Keith wasn't. Except, he was top of their class and Lance didn't like being second to the mouthbreather weirdo that sat behind him in Astronomy and maybe... happened to be the only person who couldmaybepull a dumb mullet off, not that Lance would ever admit it. But Lance couldn't tell anyone that; he needed to keep those glances in the locker room under wraps or he'd be in deep.Too bad Keith is really hard to avoid. Like, crazy hard.Lance is screwed.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	Eat Your Heart Out, Mullet

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this fic I've had brewing in my head for a while! I think, since I'm stuck inside like everyone else is right now, I might as well make some use of it. I haven't felt like updating anything I have previously written, but I think I can keep going on this one X3

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce our newest student to the class. This is Keith Kogane and he's from Houston, Texas! I hope you all will be welcoming and kind." Mr. Smythe, or Coran as he insisted they call him (which was weird because since when did teachers want you calling them by their first name?), stated. Lance knew the poor newbie was dead meat, but he supposed Keith did too, seeing as the kid didn't make eye contact with anyone as he shuffled over to the only empty seat in the room, which was right in front of Lance.

Great! Lance figured maybe he could bring this kid into his friend group. While Lance wasn't one to offer up friendship services to just anyone, Keith had a mullet and wore all black and _eyeliner_ at _seven in the morning_ of all things. The kid could seriously use some help, as far as Lance was concerned. And, with Keith sitting right here, Lance could easily pass him notes during class. Not that Coran ever noticed anyway.

Lance waited until Coran started to write something about the gravitational pull of Pluto on the blackboard before he quietly tore the corner off a piece of paper in his notebook. He quickly jotted down a "Hi! My name's Lance. When's your lunch hour? -L" with his electric blue gel pen, folded it into a triangle, and slid it onto Keith's desk while pretending he almost dropped his pencil.

Smooth.

Or, so Lance thought. You see, Keith didn't even see the damn thing on his desk! He was too busy staring out the window to notice, it seemed. So, Lance decided to let out a cough to get the kid's attention. Nothing. He let out a louder one; no dice. Finally, Lance let out an rather forceful **"A-** _ **HEM!"**_ that, he admits... may have come out a bit harsher than he had intended.

"Yes, Mr. McClain? Was there something on your mind, my boy?" Coran asked, knowing that Lance was probably acting up but pretending to be excited about a possibly reasonable question. Lance had a bit of a reputation at the school, you know; he was a class clown by day, but an honors student and on the dean's list every year by night. It was a well-known fact that Lance had been top of his class for five years in a row, and he wasn't planning on letting that streak go to waste... that didn't mean he got any less detentions, though.

"N-Nothing, Coran. Sorry," Lance apologized before giving Keith a confused look. When he saw the boy looking back at him with a blank stare and a raised brow, Lance huffed so hard his hair fluttered a bit as he quickly flung himself back in his seat with his arms crossed. The kid was messing with him! That _asshole!_ And to think Lance was _actually_ going to invite Keith to eat lunch with him and his best friends!

Lance was appalled, and he remained so until the bell rang to signal the end of class and the end of the school day. He quickly gathered all his books into his bag and stomped off to find Hunk. Maybe he would have some idea as to why the new kid insisted on choosing social suicide over a friendly introduction with Lance.

-

The first month of school continued on much the same with Keith staring out the window throughout the whole hour in Honors Astronomy and Lance frustratedly trying to take notes from the board, not that he could see much around Keith's _STUPID MULLET_. But hey, Lance wasn't bitter. Not at all. Keith wasn't worth it, anyway. Lance had better things to worry about, like what he was doing later tonight. It was the second Friday night of the month, and that was a very big night for Lance.

Hunk had agreed to drive Lance into the city that night while he was visiting his dad for the weekend, and Lance wasn't going to let that go to waste. He had a lot to do before 10 tonight. For one, he had to run home, grab everything he needed, mess with his sisters' stuff to throw them off his scent, leave a note for his mom saying he was staying at Matt's tonight (who was also in on it), and then he had to book it over to Hunk's before anyone else was home from school. Otherwise, he'd be screwed and he wouldn't be able to go anywhere.

So, that meant Lance was on his best behavior today. He couldn't get detention, not tonight. But, oh, was it hard when Keith's dumb mullet was blocking his view of the study guide Coran was making for the test on Monday! The damned loser wasn't even paying attention anyway! Why did he have to be so selfish and make Lance have to crane his neck like a giraffe?!

Before he knew it, though, Lance was home free! The bell rang and Lance was out the door in less than a second, jetting down the hallway practically at light-speed, his Air Force 1 Highs squeaking and screeching as he slid on the tiles in his hurry to get home. He had been waiting _WAYYYYY_ too long for this night and his poor teenage heart couldn't take being let down again like he was for the past two months. No, he wasn't about to get caught this time.

So, Lance sprinted home like his Trig book was the pigskin and there was a team closing in on him. He took games rather seriously, so that was the exact motivation he needed to get him home in less than ten minutes. He was panting like a dog, but Lance was there.

He quickly shoved a couple changes of clothes into his book bag, carefully placed his outfit for tonight on top, then booked it to the bathroom next door to Veronica's room that the girls used, and he grabbed his essentials. He knew this routine like the back of his hand by now, having done this with Hunk for the past two years, but there was the occasional hiccup. Like, this time, Veronica had hidden her mascara. It took Lance a good five minutes to find it—five minutes he didn't have—before it was in his bag right next to his toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, and his Ritalin. Then, Lance shot down the stairs like a bat out of hell and almost ran into his brother Marco on his way out the door.

"Hey, where _you_ off to, punk?!" Marco shouted after Lance as he watched his baby brother dart off down the road, adjusting the grocery bags in his arms before he managed to drop the one with the eggs in it. "Where you think you're going?"

"See you later, loser!" Lance called back with a laugh, jogging backwards now and narrowly avoiding a car as it sped past him. "It's the thirteenth! I'm going to Matt's!"

Marco rolled his eyes at his brother's antics before he sighed in understanding. “Alright, just stay away from ladders, and don’t break any mirrors while you’re at it, or Mamá will kill you!” It was Friday the Thirteenth, after all, and their mother was ever the superstitious woman.

But Marco couldn’t say he was surprised as he watched Lance run off to the Holts’ place. They did this every other week without fail. Lance would spend the night at Matt's apartment so he could hang out with the Holts since Lance and Pidge didn't have classes together anymore; Lance missed his best friend of 14 years. Little did Marco know, Lance really only stayed with Matt and Pidge on the _fourth_ week of the month. He was in the city on the second. Again, not that Lance would ever tell anyone other than those involved in the dupe. God, he'd rather keel over and _die_.

And so, Lance was off to Hunk's to kill some time before they left and before Hunk 'dropped Lance off at his Uncle Coran's place,' as far as Hunk's parents knew. Lance didn't like making Hunk lie to his moms, but if Lance told them, they'd tell Lance's parents, and Lance would be on the street before he could say 'I can explain!' Hunk recognized that, so he didn't push, but Lance still felt guilty. Hunk insisted that he help, though, and who was Lance to turn down a free ride with his best friend in the whole wide world?

-

“Hey, Keith!” Shiro exclaimed when he heard the front door open. He would have greeted his little (step-)brother at the door with a hug too, but he was in the middle of cutting some chicken breast for dinner that night and Adam was working late, so he couldn’t exactly take over for him. “How was school?”

“Same old…” Keith mumbled to Shiro before throwing his bag on the ground next to the door and making his way to the kitchen for a snack. “Lance was breathing down my neck… _again_.”

Shiro chuckled as he shook his head for a moment, pausing in his work to look at Keith with mirth in his eyes and a slight smirk on his lips. “I’m telling you, Keith; you should just ask the boy if he wants to go to the arcade or something! You both like Galaga, don’t you?”

“… Yeah, who doesn’t?” Keith replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he realized that he did know that Lance liked Galaga because he’d overheard Hunk and him talking about it at lunch and he… might have been listening. And, he also might have blabbed to Shiro about it later that day.

“So, you two can bond over that!” Shiro pointed out with a genuine smile. He only wanted the best for his brother. “You know, I met Adam at-”

“You met Adam at the bowling alley in Pasadena. I know.” Keith replied with an eye roll before he sat at the breakfast bar and rested his elbow on the table with his chin on his palm. He huffed a puff of air that blew his long bangs out of his face for a moment before they fell back into his eyes. He’d heard this story countless times, and he knew the moral well; just when you think you’re all alone, someone’ll find you and you’ll be oh so grateful.

Well, it was utter bullshit.

Keith had been alone for most of his life, despite living with his father for the first twelve years of it, and no one had found him yet besides Shiro. What man is going to waltz his way into Keith’s life and sweep him off his feet like fucking Cinderella? No one, that’s who. Keith knew he was going to die an old, alone fag and he was okay with it. Really, he was; but, Shiro insisted Keith still try, despite the fact that Lance was as straight as they come. He was on the varsity football team, for fuck’s sake!

“You know what?” Keith said, but it wasn’t really a question. They both knew that. “I’m going for a walk. And a smoke. Don’t wait up,” He said before he went out the back door, letting the screen door slam closed behind him like a warning.

Shiro sighed to himself. He knew he was pushing Keith’s boundaries, but the poor kid needed _someone_ to do it. Keith was just so afraid to be vulnerable, and it worried him. Maybe one day Keith would understand that Shiro’s not trying to be his new and improved dad, but his brother that was just watching his back.

He supposed that was wishful thinking, though.

-

Eventually it gets dark out and Keith decided he wanted to go out. Not for a drink—no, he wouldn’t end up like his deadbeat father—but he might enjoy some dancing.

So, Keith wandered around until he found a functioning payphone and called a taxi to pick him up. It was already late, and the city was more than a walk away if he wanted to get there before the sun came up.

He lit a cigarette as he waited for his ride, feeling the hot smoke fill his lungs and comfort and burn his insides like nothing else could before he let the contaminated air out in a series of smoke rings. The cab arrived just as Keith put out his cig, and then they were off to the nearest gay bar Keith could think of. He really just needed to dance with someone to forget the aching in his chest every time a stray electric blue gel pen jabbed into his side in the hallway, leaving a barely-there stain on his shirt.

-

Just as Keith thought, his fake I.D. worked. He wasn’t surprised, considering how he’d paid a pretty penny for it despite not really needing it anymore as he’d be eighteen soon, but he supposed it was worth it to keep the plastic thing around after all seeing as he immediately spotted a boy in the middle of the dance floor that really caught Keith’s eye.

The kid’s tan skin really shined under the bright pink lights, and he looked to be about Keith’s age if the soft-looking skin and the spry way he danced all the latest moves, and a few older ones, was anything to go by. In fact, he might be the perfect distraction. From this distance, he looked a lot like Lance. Not enough to really fool Keith, as this kid was wearing some arm band that he probably stole off Freddie Mercury, a royal blue tube top, some sinfully short, acid-wash jean shorts, and some blue keds with tube socks. Keith just wished he could see the boy’s face to judge if he was enough like Lance to be worth his time. Sadly, though only just, the Lance look-alike had his back turned to Keith and was grinding on a man that looked to be at least 27, but was probably older.

“Wow…” Keith thought aloud as he made his way over to the dancefloor in awe of this kid’s spunk. And man, was he a natural. He seemed to be positively preening under the older man’s attention, arching his back just so as he softly, slowly, _sensually_ trailed his hand down the back of the man’s neck, then back up into his hair to pull his mouth to the side boy’s neck, all while pulling the man’s opposite arm to wrap around the boy’s waist and pull him even closer.

Keith licked his lips before he made his way around more to the boy’s front, already thinking about how he’d be able to pull the boy away from the man he was grinding against like his life depended on it. However, his jaw dropped at what he saw.

It… what?

“Lance?!” Keith shouted, the loudest he thought his voice had ever been in his entire life. He was floored!

Lance looked over in Keith’s direction immediately, paling and swaying a bit like he might faint before they locked eyes. Then, the two simply stared at each other for a good, full minute. Neither of them could come to the understanding that the other was actually there, right in front of them, at a gay club. They couldn’t understand what that _implied_ … that was, until the man behind Lance asked if he was alright, as Lance wasn’t reciprocating anymore and hadn’t been for some time.

He then broke out of the trance and turned to the man behind him before hurriedly apologizing and running out the door as fast as he could. He needed to get out of here and over to Hunk’s **_PRONTO_**.

Keith woke up just a second after Lance did and quickly ran after him, trying to see what he was doing there and if he was alright, but when he made it back out, Lance was slamming a cab door closed and zooming off, leaving Keith on the curb to wonder _what the actual fuck just happened._

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed this fic! It's one I've been sitting on for a while lol XD
> 
> P.S. Every chapter will either be named after a quote from said chapter or a song that inspired that part of the fic. For this chapter, it was inspired by the song "Into the Groove;" moreover, I imagine that the song playing when Keith enters the bar/club and sees Lance is this one, so there you go ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


End file.
